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Japanese Occupation of Korea
Before World War 2 ended, the Japanese occupied Korea. Once they left, they created a vacuum of power where the communism and democracy struggled for power. -
Reza: Birthday
Reza was born in 12/23/1939 in Tehran, Iran. -
Soonja: Birthday
Soonja was born in present-day North Korea to an affluent family. Her father was the mayor of the town they lived in. -
Soonja: Leaving North Korea
Soonja's family escaped North Korea before the border between North and South Korea was established. Soonja's family was smuggled out of North Korea in the middle of the night. Her family bribed Russian officials with her mother's jewelry. They fled because their family was affluent, and the northerners praised workers. According to Soonja, they would've been sent to Siberia if they did not flee. -
Soonja: Leaving Seoul to Busan
After 3 years in South Korea, Soonja's father developed ulcers which caused internal bleeding. After multiple transfusions, they were told to move to a stress-free environment. -
Soonja: Escaping the Korean war
Soonja's family escaped the Korean War by living in Busan. The North Koreans and Chinese could not have crossed the River Nakdong. Essentially his illness saved the family. Her current outlook on misfortune is that some bad things may be good and good things are good. -
Reza's photography
Reza started casually photography. He got his camera in 1958 and became more passionate. He still is to this day. -
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Reza: Hobbies while in medical school
Reza's hobbies included mountain climbing, volunteer work, and camping. This was through the Iranian Boy Scouts. One example was that he was a Scout Master at an orphanage. At first, they were depressed since they've lost their parents, but through the Boy Scouts, they became happier. -
Reza: Boy Scout Jubilee Jamboree
Reza was chosen to go to Jubilee Jamboree in England while in the Boy Scouts. He said it was a great experience. -
Reza: Beginning of Medical School
Tehran College of Medicine. It was free, but 1% of Iranians got in. A lot of people got in so it had to be limited. -
Reza: Wood Badge
In England, Reza was already a high scout rank in Iran. However, since he lived in Iran, he could not receive the Eagle Scout rank. So, while in England, he received the Wood Badge. -
Reza: Boy Scout University
Reza and 2 other friends started a Boy Scout University in Iran. They still are friends and had a reunion in California last year. -
Soonja: Starting Medical School
Soonja started her pre-medical school training in 1961. Her father heavily encouraged her and her sisters to become independent and do something. After 2 years of pre-med, she went into Busan Medical school for 4 years. The medical school that Soonja was accepted to used to be an all-boys medical school. However, 2 years prior, it became de-segregated, and Soonja became one of the first 3 girls to be accepted after taking the acceptance test. -
Reza: End of Medical School
After medical school, Reza felt happy. He was done with classes and started his internship. He felt happy that he could "suddenly help people." -
Reza: Time in Military
For the first 4 months of his time in the military, he spent it in military training. Then, he went to rural places to practice medicine for places without doctors. This lasted for 14 months. -
Reza: Coming to the America
Reza arrived in the US in 1967. In the first 2 days in the US, he met "a nice young Korean lady" while they were both interning. They became good friends. As an intern, he worked so hard. He was either on-call or working at the office so the time he spent with Soonja was precious. -
Vietnam War(1967-1970)
Many doctors were sent to Vietnam. However, Reza and Soonja weren't sent to Vietnam since foreign doctors were kept as they were seen as useful to America. -
Soonja: Coming to America
Soonja came to America in order to further her career. She joined an internship program, and as an intern, she met Reza. -
Marriage
Their marriage was a gathering of 30 people (staff, friends, colleagues, and family). Their main photographer was one of Reza's friends, Dr. Salimi. They married at an Islamic center out of necessity, even though they weren't religious. According to the center, they needed 2 witnesses, but Dr. Salimi and his wife only counted as 1 and a half, so they had to get a religious leader as another witness. After the marriage, they had their honeymoon at Niagara Falls. -
Soonja: Road to pathology
When Soonja became a doctor, she wanted to become a pediatrician. She was a 1-year residency for pediatrics, but then she realized that it was going to be late nights, and she was getting and Bijan sick. So she didn't want to deal with people closely so she switched to pathology. So she did 4 more years of residency for pathology. -
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Soonja: Hobbies
Ever since she was a student, she loved reading. She had a lamp and would read all night, and she would read anything. Now, she believes that's why her eyes aren't good. Her only vacations were when the kids had vacations. She really didn't have much free time, especially with the kids. Once Amin went to college, she took up gardening flowers and herbs. -
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Reza: Time spent with kids
Reza spent a lot of time with his kids. He took them skiing, soccer games, and basketball. He also spent time with their dogs Indie and Beckie, Later, he got a dog named Ikee. He also had other pets like birds and fish because of Amin. When they died, he would tell Amin that they either escaped or went to a happy farm. -
Birth of my Uncle
Prior to the birth, Soonja was very happy. However, Reza didn't recognize that he was going to be a father. Once Bijan was born, Reza instantly fell in love with him. It was initially rough since Reza didn't have a baby sitter, nor schedule for Bijan, but later in life things calmed down. -
Birth of my Dad
This was very similar to the experience with Bijan. Prior to the birth, Soonja was very happy, but Reza didn't recognize that he was going to be a father. Once Amin was born, Reza instantly fell in love with him. According to him, Amin had a better head start since there was a system in place to take care of him. -
Reza: Finally a Doctor
After residency, Reza practiced Endocrinology and Soonja practiced Pathology. The hospital he worked at was affiliated with Cornell. It was called Forest Hills Medical Center. Eventually, he became a clinical assistant professor at Cornell. Soon after, he became associate director of the department of medicine. Over time he became head of Queens-Long Island Medical group. -
Change of the Last Name
When Soonja married Reza, her last name became Sabetghadam. Once she became a citizen, she changed it to Sabet. She later changed the names of Bijan and Amin to Sabet as well. Reza joined in and changed his last name. Soonja originally changed it since it didn't sound American. -
Iranian Revolution 1979
The Iranian Revolution was a series of uprisings of the political left and the religious right against Mohammad Reza Shah. Ayatollah Khomeini was the figurehead of this revolution and ultimately made Iran a theocratic state. In the beginning, he was extremely happy and excited for a government for the people. Soon, when it was discovered that it was going to become a theocratic state, he regretted it. Many of his friends left America to serve, but soon came back after being disappointed. -
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Reza: Height of his Career
The 1980s to 2000s was the height of the medical career. He worked with residents, worked in groups, talked with other departments, and became the head of his group. Typically, the head would give up their practice, but he continued working. Also, he tried to get doctors together to form his own group. -
Birth of Me
I was born on 4/15/2003. Reza and Soonja traveled from New York to see me at John Hopkins. Whenever I went to New York to visit them, I would always go on a walk with him. -
Reza: Retirement
Reza retired from Endocrinology after around 50 years of practicing. He helped so many people and impact much more. -
Soonja: Retirement
After more than 50 years of practicing, Soonja retired. She now spends more time with her grandkids and pursuing her interest. -
What I've Learned
The big thing that I took away from this project is that my family history is really interesting. My grandma never talked about what life was like in Korean and it was interesting to hear about her time before Grandpa. Also, I've learned about the Iranian Revolution in class, but it was interesting to hear this information from an actual Iranian. In general, I've learned more about history than I could've in history.
